And to all readers pleas noteIn order to correctly understand the explanation of my own personality systems, you need some knowledge of the summary of a SD.Be ware: Switching between personality parts is not a phenomenon that only belongs to a trauma related Structural Dissociation (SD) – such as a very complex PTSD the dissociative identity disorder (DID) – or a complex PTSD Secondary SD (OSDD) – or a less complex Post traumatic stress disorder PTSD.

There are other disorders that have symptoms of identity problems and switching behavior between personality states such as a theatrical personality disorder, a Borderline Personality disorder, a bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. A Dissociative Disorder (DD) has a wider range of being a co-morbidity disorder. And also the tertiary SD, DID, the trauma related Dissociative Identity disorder is a polysymptomatic condition which is characterized by a hidden presentation (S.Boon & N. Draijer).So keep in mind: Diagnoses of a ‘trauma related’ structural dissociation of the personality can only be done by an experienced clinical trauma psychologist/psychotherapist which is specially taint to do so.

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Structural Dissociation and amnesia

First notice:

The memory loss is not caused by a physical neurological or a somatic problem.
If caused by psychological Trauma;
The memory loss is often not permanently.

How to explain memory loss to a Trauma related Structural Dissociation

PTSD – DD – primary
partial or full dissociation of the traumatic experience (the ANP is phobic to remember the traumatizing experience)

Complex PTSD – OSDD or DDnos – secondary
partial or full dissociation of more than one traumatic childhood experience. The ANP suffers big stress under the influence of more than one EP which holds traumatizing experiences of the past or which go in contact with memories of the past (EP’s).

Very Complex PTSD – DID – tertiary
partial or full dissociation of more than one traumatic childhood experience
but also amnesia during and for daily life tasks (not traumatic experiences)

I start again with a very small summary of the three levels of a Trauma related Structural Dissociation of the personality, and the understanding of an Apparently Normal Personality part and an Emotional Personality part which holds a traumatic experience or a part of a traumatic experience.

Traumatized experience – a memory (EP) – can be:partially dissociatedANP can remember a part of the traumatizing experiencefully dissociatedANP can’t remember a thing of the traumatizing experience

this can occur within1. primary SD
2. secondary SD
3. tertiary SD

Note: partially or fully dissociating of an EP, a traumatized memory of the past

A note to paragraph 1

Not remembering the past or a traumatizing experience we call ‘dissociating a traumatic event’. The ANP is Phobic for remembering the traumatizing experience. If the EP is triggered and starts to influence the behavior of the ANP, or even takes control of the ANP’s behavior by switching to an emotional personality state, then the ANP loses the ability to comprehend the implementation of a daily requirement or task. The influence of the EP (or more EP’s) on the ANP can cause severe agony in daily life.

This can happen within all three the levels of a trauma related structural dissociation,
primary, secondary and tertiary SD
Because all three levels have an ANP and EP part.

Paragraph 2)

Amnesia ANP & ANP ( tertiary SD – DID)

amnesia of daily life activities which are taken care of by more than one ANP.

example:
On a daily life base losing track of time, or not remembering doing things (tasks) in the present time. Like not knowing what you did this morning or not knowing that you did already take care of the groceries or not remembering that you did go to work this morning etc. the present time tasks (amnesia)
Amnesia caused by switching between more than one ANP.

A note to paragraph 2

This we call a Tertiary SD which is related to a Dissociative identity disorder

Amnesia for daily life tasks or daily life events, caused by more than one ANP which goes in control of taking care of daily life tasks. This only can happen by the tertiary SD, because this is the only Trauma related SD level which has more than one ANP (DID)

An example of amnesia caused by more than one ANP
Let’s take an example of 2 ANP’s

One of the tasks of ANP 1 system is:
going to work on a daily base and she/he doesn’t like physical contact

One of the tasks of ANP 2 system is:
taking care of the kids, husband/wife, and she/he has no problems with handling psychical contact.

Both ANP’s leaves aside the EP’s (memories of the past) and together they don’t leave a lot of room to the EP’s to take control of their consciousness mind. On this way they minimize and avoid the influence of EP’s on their daily life. The ANP’s focus purely on surviving daily life tasks and emotions.

If someone, without a warning, touches ANP1 on a physical way, an EP could get triggered. Then a nasty memory comes to close to the consciousness mind of ANP1 and by instinct this ANP will redraw to avoid the EP. Forcing ANP2 to take over the moment of daily life. Normally the ANP’s switch during the day by doing the tasks they each are best in and trainet to take care of, but they also provide protection against the influence of nasty EP’s

The switching moments between the ANP’s can be experienced as coming out of a very thick Fog realizing by an instant of being in the kitchen without remembering how he or she did get there. ANP2 gets confused for a moment and needs to adjust to the situation. But ANP2 can’t remember the nasty feeling which hit ANP1 before the switching moment. And ANP2 also can’t remember what took place on the moment that ANP1 was in control. Now ANP 2 suffers amnesia for the time being of ANP1 was in control, and ignores or avoids thinking about it. Likewise the other way around.
Both ANP’s are focust on thinking, there is only me and I don’t suffer a Trauma or trauma related disorder.

And although the memory is not really gone….

ANP2 suffers amnesia for the time being that ANP1 was in control. They never learnt to communicate and work together and they are dead-scared for their own – but also for each others – memories. They only learnt ‘how to survive pain and nasty traumatizing events and memories’.

So here the EP’s couldn’t take over the consciousness mind of the ANP. Because if the EP’s had succeeded ANP1 would have experienced the same agony and suffering such as described under paragraph 1 – a switching behavior to an emotional personality state – a personality state that goes under the influence of an EP – caused by a trigger moment such as a physical touch.

ANP living

Being traumatized is also very often explained as living in a Fog

The ANP does the job that has to be done – as being on an automatic pilot.

A foggy mental state, not fully mentally sharp and or touched by daily life emotions.

Sometimes a very deep fog is needed to keep a distance of traumatized memories (EP’s)

What is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

When in danger, it’s natural to feel afraid. This fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. But in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this reaction is changed or damaged. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they’re no longer in danger.

PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.

PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. Click the NIHM link above to read the full article….

DSM-5
Trauma- and stressor-related disorders

. . include disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is listed explicitly as a diagnostic criterion. These include reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder, and adjustment disorders. Placement of this chapter (slide page 302) reflects the close relationship between these diagnoses and disorders in the surrounding chapters on anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and dissociative disorders.

How about the chemical brain balance

.

Paul Ramsay is a board certified hypnotist in private practice, hypnotizes over 1500 people per year, and tours as a stage hypnotist. For over 10 years, Paul Ramsay has been entertaining college and high school students as a stage hypnotist. In 2011, Paul introduced his exclusive interactive show called Mind Games. Paul’s video series Hypnotic shows a day in the life of a traveling stage hypnotist. Paul’s private practice is dedicated to helping individuals stop negative habits such as smoking, fingernail biting, and overeating. Ramsay’s private practice also offers customized, individual personal coaching programs to help his clients achieve their goals and maximize their potential. www.PaulRamsay.com

and

Cognitive Neuroscientist Manuel Saint-Victor

M.D. Dr. Saint-Victor is Chief Neuroscientist at Mindful360, which he co-founded. Dr. Saint-Victor is focused on using a non-pathological approach to helping people get better by becoming more self-aware of their strengths and resources. Dr. Saint-Victor trained under Dr. Eva Ritvo, M.D. and Dr. Ray Ownby, M.D., MBA, Ph.D. as a Psychiatry Resident at Jackson Memorial Hospital; attended Medical School at UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine; and conducted cognitive neuroscience research under the supervision of Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ph.D. as an undergraduate at Harvard University. Dr. Saint-Victor’s white paper about Core Value Alignment will be released in July 2014.

What is Dopamine? Reward, Learning, and Flexibility

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for reward-based learning. It’s involved in compulsive behaviors and wanting (anticipation, craving) but not liking (pleasure). Dopamine is made in the Substantia Nigra. dopamine pathway problems include addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia.

Serotonin is about creating a subjective sense of resource availability. In lower organisms, this could mean food. In higher organisms, especially social organisms, this translates into availabilities for mating opportunities, socioeconomic position/dominance, and mood. It also plays a role in appetite and sleep. It is derived from tryptophan. In addition to its role in your central nervous system serotonin is also active in your gut canal and in your platelets. In fact, 95% of your serotonin is found in your bowels. This explains, in part, the bowel irritation associated with nervousness and stress.

Cortisol is your stress hormone. It increases in your body to organize fight, flight, faint behavior. This includes shutting down any systems not immediately needed for escape or combat, shutting down your immune system, and switching your brain to acting based on habits.

On a molecular level, a cortisol cascade shut down the connection that allows your prefrontal cortex to modulate your amygdala. This sets the amygdala free to fire, signaling intense arousal. At Mindful360, we discuss this effect in our Amygdala hijack series.

Oxytocin, often called the snuggle hormone, is better thought of as the neuromodulator of the attachment system. It is associated with group bonding, empathy through narrative, breast-feeding, and that warm-fuzzy feeling after orgasm. The dark side of oxytocin, sometimes called the mother-bear effect, is outgroup intolerance, and exclusivity. The divider between the two effects us trust.

Orexin, also known as hypocretin is all about energy, metabolism, and arousal. Without it you may suffer from narcolepsy or drop fits when you laugh. Some label it as being at the intersection of consciousness. The best way to think of this is that your heart rate and breathing rate affect how you feel emotionally about everything else and orexin controls that.